Zac Blair, number 126 in the FedEx Cup, playing in the Utah State Open. Wait, what?

(via Golfweek) The 27-year-old agonizingly missed out on a FedEx Cup playoffs spot last week, dropping from 120th to 126th on the points list after an MDF at the Wyndham Championship. The top 125 in points after this event earned a postseason spot.Blair is keeping busy. In fact, the Utah native has returned home this week to play an event … the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open.

Yes, the PGA Tour player is competing in a state Open.

It’s certainly an unorthodox path, but he’s eligible for this, and more tournament play before the Web.com Tour Finals will keep him sharp.

Blair can even win some money, too, as first place is slated to earn $20,000. That’s a far cry from the winner’s share at this week’s FedEx Cup playoffs opener, The Northern Trust – where first place gets a player $1.575 million – but it’s not nothing!

The Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open, played at Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah, is a three-day affair and begins Friday.

Could going back to a local tournament really be a catalyst to get Blair ready for the FedEx Cup playoffs? Again, maybe not the most conventional idea, but we applaud Blair for thinking outside the box.

Pretty tough last week or so for our boy Zac Blair: first, he misses out on the FedEx Cup playoffs (and potentially a huge payday) by one spot. ONE SPOT. Absolutely brutal man. But it gets worse: since he didn’t finish in the top 125, he lost his Tour card. Now he has to go back down to the Web.com tour for the rest of the season to try and get his card again. A very, very bad week for Zac.

But this move is interesting to say the least. He can’t play the Web.com event this week, so he plays the state open in his home state of Utah. There’s a nice little cash prize at the end of it (although it’s nothing for a PGA player), but more importantly its a way to practice. Hopefully, he can go out on the Web and play well enough to earn his card again, but a weird move to say the least.